We had been jogging regularly for almost two weeks now.
According to the general, it was supposed to be good for our metabolism.
I, however, had a different theory.
He probably wanted some of these people to lose weight.
If that wasn't the case, then why were we given a limited amount of food every day? I wasn't saying the food was bad. Actually, it tasted great. But still, daily jogging combined with controlled meals?
Suspicious.
Everyone here probably knew that this whole metabolism explanation was just a fancy way of saying, Run until some of you become thinner.
Well, everyone except the general, apparently.
Somewhere along the way, though, I got completely carried away thinking about food.
After those two weeks, our training had shifted toward improving our aim. Not that I particularly needed much improvement in that department. Still, overall, my time here had been... good.
Actually, it could have been more than good. Maybe even great.
If the general hadn't figured me out. That was still the biggest mystery to me. How in the world had he figured out that I was a girl? Seriously, there were more than five hundred people here. Five hundred. Not one of them had noticed anything.
But him? It had taken him barely a day. One day.
At this point, it was no longer just mysterious. It was suspicious.
I still couldn't understand what had given me away.
Was it the way I walked? The way I talked? The way I looked?
No. That didn't make sense. I had been careful.
Sigh.
And the worst part was that I couldn't even properly investigate him. Not when the person I wanted answers from was also the person who kept trying to interrogate me.
Still, I shouldn't have been thinking about him right now. I had something much more important to be happy about.
A week-long holiday. Well, technically, everyone here was getting a week-long holiday. Not just me. And yes, there were still two entire months left after that, so perhaps celebrating was a little premature. But for now, that week was the only thing that mattered.
I had a lot to do. First, I needed to check the internal security measures. Second, I had some district-related errands to handle. Then, I needed to personally visit the construction site of the defense line.
And, of course... Spending time with my brother was also on the list. This was probably the part I was looking forward to the most.
Yesterday, we had all been told to prepare ourselves because the day after tomorrow, there would be an archery and shooting championship.
Which meant...
Tomorrow.
Apparently, this was the first time something like this had been held here. At least, I had never heard of such a competition before. We had been given the entire day off so that everyone could practice.
Naturally, everyone was taking full advantage of it. People were practicing their aim, competing with one another, and trying to improve before tomorrow.
And me? I was sitting in a corner. Watching them.
Practicing was unnecessary; I won't mention that I was feeling particularly lazy.
"Why aren't you practicing?"
I looked up.
And immediately wished I hadn't.
Kyson.
Of course. Who else?
"Oh, right." He seemed to remember something. "You don't need to practice. You're already good at it."
I stared at him.
"Really? Because I clearly remember you saying last time that I was just okay." I raised an eyebrow.
Kyson paused for a moment.
"Well, I have a different perspective of you now."
Then he looked at me. "So, can you forget about that?"
I gave him a blank look. "But I still have the same old perspective of you."
His expression changed slightly.
Good. I got up before he could say anything else.
After dealing with him, I headed straight toward the gym. At this time of the day, it was usually empty.
Usually.
But apparently, luck had decided to follow me around again. I had just dealt with one Hawk.
It hadn't even been a full minute.
And somehow...
I had already ended up with another one.
I stopped at the entrance. Seriously?
Could this family leave me alone for five minutes?
I went straight to the treadmill and completely ignored the person standing on the opposite side of the gym.
Ever since that encounter, I had decided to treat him like thin air. Well... technically, it hadn't been that big of a deal.
He had only kissed my forehead. But no. I should treat it like a big deal.
Enemies didn't kiss each other's foreheads.
Then again, this wasn't even the first time he had kissed me. That first incident was still humiliating enough to make me want to erase it from history. And at that time, I had actually thought he was gay.
If my brother had been here, this general would probably have answered yes instead of saying, "Neither am I."
Why did I always end up thinking about him? Seriously, Rose, you have problems. And they were probably not physical. I increased my speed.
After this so-called championship, everyone would be returning to their respective districts for a week.
Which meant... I would finally get to see my brother.
He must have been worried about me. I hadn't called him.
I closed my eyes while running, letting the rhythm of the treadmill distract me. Slowly, my speed increased along with the machine.
Then it increased again.
My eyes immediately opened.
Who dared to mess with my speed?
I looked to the side.
Never mind. Nothing needed to be said.
Rose. Keep a straight face.
I looked at him. "Why are you disturbing me, sir?"
Your answer better be good because you just ruined my peaceful mood.
"I need to talk."
There it goes.
My peaceful mood packed its bags and waved goodbye.
I hated his conversations. They always started innocently and somehow ended with me feeling as though I had been handed an examination paper.
I quickly tried to think of an escape. "I have to do some packing."
"You're quite eager to go back home," he said, sounding slightly amused. "But I still need to talk to you."
"I just remembered that I did something wrong."
What did I do wrong? I had no idea.
"I... ugh... really need to go and pack. "Perfect excuse, but terrible explanation.
Still, I turned around and tried to leave. I had barely taken a step when his hand grabbed my arm.
Forcefully. He pulled me back toward him.
"I said I need to talk."
"We can talk later," I snapped.
I really didn't want to answer a single question he decided to throw at me today.
"Now means now."
The roughness in his voice sent a shiver down my spine.
His voice was strange. Sometimes, it was almost gentle. Smooth and polite. And then, without warning, it could become sharp enough to make me freeze.
He was scary.
Unfortunately, I had no choice.
He clearly wasn't going to let me leave without having his precious conversation.
"Fine," I muttered. "But at least let go of me so we can talk."
His grip was tight around my arm. When he finally released me, I immediately rubbed the spot. I was beginning to think my blood circulation had filed a complaint. Then he looked directly at me.
"Do you like me?"
Gulp.
This guy and his questions. He always managed to catch me completely off guard. Too much straightforwardness was unhealthy.
Maybe...
Maybe yes. But perhaps that was just my heart trying to manipulate my brain.
Of course not.
That was what my brain immediately told me. And I had always listened to my brain.
Always.
I had been like that for as long as I could remember.
My aunt used to tell me otherwise.
"Rose, you should listen to your heart sometimes."
She had once looked at me with concern before continuing.
"You love your brother, and that's a good thing. You feel strongly for him. But what worries me is that when it comes to anyone else... even yourself... you never allow your emotions to matter."
At the time, I hadn't understood what she meant. Even now, I wasn't sure I did. But I knew one thing. I had always followed my mind. And my mind was telling me to stay away from this man.
So I gave him my answer.
"No."
His expression barely changed.
"I kissed you," he said. "You didn't stop me."
I flinched.
Only for a second. But I kept my answer the same.
"That was my mistake."
"A mistake?" His voice suddenly rose. "You call that a mistake?"
I flinched again. He was scaring me. Without saying anything else, he walked away from me. For one brief second, I thought he was leaving.
Then I heard the sound of the gate closing. My eyes widened.
What does he intend to do? Is this fear? No, what's wrong with me?
He came back. And somehow, his expression was even scarier than before. What was he planning now?
Before I could move away, he grabbed both of my shoulders and pushed me back against the wall.
Hard.
"Why?" His bloodshot eyes locked onto mine.
"Tell me why."
I couldn't speak.
"I don't want to hear that same enemy excuse."
Of course he didn't.
That was the one excuse I actually had.
I stared at him.
His eyes were frightening. How was I supposed to answer when my throat had apparently decided to stop functioning?
Then his expression changed.
Something crossed his face.
His eyes narrowed. "Is it because of him?"
I blinked.
"Who?" I wispered, barely managing to say.
"ROSEN." He shouted my brother's name so loudly that I nearly covered my ears.
Wait.
No way.
He thought I was doing all of this because of Rosen? I am actually, though...
He leaned closer. "You love him, don't you?"
Of course I loved him. He was my brother.
But judging by the look on Logan's face... He clearly wasn't talking about brotherly love. For a second, my brain finally started working despite the chaos surrounding me.
I remembered it. The joke. I had once said something about Rosen being my boyfriend. And this idiot had apparently believed me.
I stared at him.
Well... Maybe it was better if he continued believing that.
It would keep him away. It would give me an excuse. And perhaps, more importantly, it would stop him from asking questions about my real relationship with Rosen.
So I swallowed the nervousness building in my throat. Then I looked directly into those bloodshot eyes.
"Yes."
I paused deliberately.
"I love him."
The words hung between us.
And for the first time since he had cornered me...
I was the one waiting to see his reaction.
He gripped my shoulders tighter.
"What's in him that's not in me?"
Everything. The answer appeared in my head so quickly that I almost said it out loud. But since he was currently holding me against a wall and looking as though one wrong word might send his already terrible mood into another dimension, I decided to choose my words carefully.
"I've been with him for years," I said. "So, of course, I love him. He's... the type of person I like."
For a second, he simply stared at me. Then he laughed. Right in my face.
I blinked. Did I say something funny?
No. What exactly was so amusing? I hadn't told him a joke.
"You like someone who's a coward," he scoffed, a smirk slowly appearing on his face. "And not even a small one."
What?
I could tolerate a lot of things.
His interrogations. His constant questioning. His habit of getting into my personal space.
But there was one thing I absolutely could not tolerate.
Talking badly about my brother. I slowly looked at him.
Chit-chat? Arguments? No.
I wasn't particularly skilled at either when it came to defending my brother.
But my fists? My fists were fluent.
And they were about to have a very passionate conversation with General Logan Hawk.
I moved my fist first. Straight for his face. Luckily for him, he dodged.
Or maybe unfortunately for me. I immediately swung my other hand at him.
He dodged that too. Seriously? Was he expecting me to attack him?
Before I could throw another punch, he grabbed both of my wrists, holding my hands firmly enough to stop me from trying again.
Bad move.
He had forgotten something.
I had legs too.
Without wasting another second, I lifted my knee and kicked him squarely in the chest.
He stumbled backward. Not much. But enough.
And that tiny moment of imbalance was all I needed.
His grip loosened.
I pulled my hands free and immediately used the same strategy again. This time, my fist connected.
Perfectly. He dropped down onto one knee.
I stood over him, breathing heavily, my anger still boiling far too violently for me to feel even slightly guilty.
"Rosen is not a coward!"
My voice echoed through the gym.
I pointed a finger directly at his chest.
"You and your entire district are."
That made him look up at me.
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
His eyes were fixed on mine. But I wasn't done. Not even close.
I leaned slightly closer.
"Even if there was no Rosen..." My voice lowered, but the anger in it remained. "I still would have answered the same."
His expression changed. And honestly? Good. I wanted him to hear this.
"Not after what your father did to District Ten."
I paused.
Then pointed at myself.
"Not after what he did to me."
There.
A perfect sentence. A cool sentence.
Probably the coolest sentence I had ever delivered in my entire life.
And the moment I finished delivering it... I ran.
Not because I was scared. Absolutely not.
I ran because if I stayed there any longer, I might deliver another cool sentence.
And considering how angry I was, the next one might involve more than words.
I ran straight toward my room.
The distance was almost ten minutes away, but I didn't care.
My legs moved faster than my brain. By the time I reached my room, my chest was rising and falling heavily.
I shut the door behind me and leaned against it.
"Calm down, Rose," I muttered. My hands were still shaking. My heart was beating too fast.
I needed to calm down. Quickly.
Because if I saw Logan Hawk again while I was still this angry... I genuinely couldn't guarantee that he would survive another conversation with me.